hi, i need help with my dogs itchy paw. she bites her back paw alot and one of the toes lost its hair and i was wondering what i should do befor i bring her to the vet.

umm... anyone?

Hi,

I have suffered this alot with my briard, he chews and chews his paw until it is red and sore and starting to lose hair:-( over time I have worked out that it is grass seeds that get stuck in the pads and cos they are so small they cant always chew them out. Does your dog walk on any grass?? The spores are so small you would need a microscope to see them and often when you take them out there is a little bit of pus that comes after it, where it has caused a minor infection, nothing to worry about though, just bathe it for a few days with boiled salted water to clear up any mess. If this doesnt seem to be your problem, look for allergys to something that he/she has walked on or in, its really a case of looking closely at the paws and seeing what you can see. Is it a recent thing or has been going on for a while? if it is recent its probably some foreign body or allergy, if it has been going on for a while, it could be  boredom/behavioural, albeit you probably think its out of character they can do these things and we dont understand it:-)
Hope this helps,
Jo

hi

my old dog suffered with this it was caused by an allergy to what we never found out, use to have to wash his feet in malaseb shampoo at least twice a week without fail to keep it under control, this was precribed by our vet its quite a common problem in some dogs, try feeding a food such as burns as well because food is linked to alot of allergies in dogs, but you will need to take him to the vet to get it treated

jojo

Get some Hibiscrub from the Chemist, dilute 10 parts water to one part hibiscrub, thoroughly clean the paw with the solution whilst it is in the itchy phrase. Do once a week to keep it away.

This will work I promise

Charm

thanx to all of you ^-^

Hi,

just another thought, tea tree oil:: dont know why i didnt think of it before:) it is excellent for any irritation and i use it on my kids, myself and dogs;)

hi

if its an allergy the only thing that will help is a special shampoo thats helps keep the yeast etc under control which causes the itching, don't try and treat him yourself go to the vet so you know what you are treating ie grass seed, allergy, mites

jojo

There could be many causes for your dog's itchy paws; the most common would be a fungus overgrowth due to acidophilus being stripped from the dog's system either by antibodies, too much cereal or fibre interfering with proper absorption.  Have you considered feeding either some live yoghurt every day or giving probiotics daily or acidophilus tablets; this may help considerably.  Scrutinise your dog's diet and remove anything with sugar (which feeds yeast) and yeast.

HTH